Patent sense: letting genes out of the bottle.

• Author: Doherty, Brian
• Position: Citings - Brief Article

ACTIVIST GROUPS SUCH as the Rural Advancement Foundation International complain that the technology behind genetically modified (GM) crop seeds is usually patented, often by huge conglomerates such as Monsanto. They fear patent controls will make poor farmers serfs of global agri-conglomerates because they'll have to buy seeds every year under restrictive licensing agreements.

But patents don't last forever. In the U.S. they last 20 years from the issue date, and in Europe it's 20 years from the application date. For some key GM plant patents, including several held by Monsanto, that anniversary arrives this year--and as the decade progresses many more will be expiring. In the long run, because the patent system eliminates "trade secrets" and tells the whole world how things are done, it guarantees that inventions will become available to anyone, free of restrictions.

Gregory Conko, a senior fellow at the...